Three lawmakers: “Our constituents are desperate”

State Rep. Stewart Jones of Laurens, Rep. Jonathan Hill of Townville, and Rep. Josiah Magnuson of Campobello issued the following joint statement in response to Speaker Jay Lucas’ and President Harvey Peeler’s decision to reconvene the legislature on May 12-14th:
“While we are glad for the opportunity to reconvene before this year’s session expires on May 14th, we are nevertheless concerned that South Carolina cannot survive on this current course until then without long-term consequences.
“Our constituents are desperate. They fear that help will not arrive in time unless the legislature takes drastic action to intervene and end the shutdown swiftly and safely.
“In our letter yesterday to Speaker Lucas and President Peeler, we requested that the legislature reconvene immediately. The South Carolinian who has $1 in the bank, no job, no options, and a family to feed feels a certain sense of urgency. Since the legislature represents the people, we should all feel this same sense of urgency.
“We believe that the legislature should reconvene no later than Tuesday, May 5th for the purpose of taking up a resolution to end the shutdown. Failure to do so will still be viewed by us as sequestering our voices and the voices of the people of South Carolina, and we will not urge our constituents to comply with the Governor’s orders.
“Even while the Governor’s AccelerateSC task force deliberates the myriads of restrictions and regulations that will hobble all but the most established businesses, South Carolina is plunging deeper by the day into an economic peril. According to the latest numbers today from SC DEW, there have been over 400,000 applications for unemployment in just six weeks, dwarfing anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes, including the Great Recession. We fear that a full-on depression could be in store if we do not end this shutdown immediately.
“As we noted in yesterday’s letter, if it is safe for the so-called ‘essential’ businesses to operate at this time, then surely there are safe ways for the so-called ‘non-essential’ businesses to operate–most of which are far smaller than the ‘essential’ businesses. We are confident that all business owners can find ways to reopen safely, without a government committee to tell them how to do it.”